Mr. Misty-Eyed | Josh Dun

dream sequence | seven

Leaves crunched under heavy steps as I laid out on my back against the dew covered grass. My arms and legs were sprawled out, while my eyes took to the black sky above. Thick heavy branches from the forest that surrounded me warped my vision.

A puff of steam filled the air above my head as I breathed out a shaky sigh. I closed my eyes then, my heart beat already running at top speed. The thunderous steps grew louder and louder until I thought I'd go deaf, but I didn't move a muscle and only squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

The noise retreated as quickly as it came and I opened my eyes to the darkness of my mind. Why didn't I run? Because I already knew how this dream would end. I'd end up drowning myself, and that scared me more than my own shadow. Why didn't I try to fight back? Because I knew I couldn't win. I was trapped.

I jolted upward into a sitting position as the sound of crunching leaves returned. A breeze, that chilled my bones, blew by me and I swore I could hear the light whispers of someone beckoning me forward.

But I stayed frozen to the spot I was in. My eyes darted from left to right as they followed after the sound of the leaves crunching in hopes I might catch a glimpse of the creature that was making the sound. An odd sensation tickled the back of my neck as a warm breath fluttered over my chilled skin.

A yelp of panic and surprise left my lips and I jumped away from the entity, falling back against my hands as my feet kicked against the ground to push me further away. But as I stared into the darkness, there was nothing there to be seen.

"It's not real, it's not real." I pulled at the roots of my hair as I continued to repeat myself over and over again. "It's not real."

My head dipped down as I heaved a few gasps of air in and out of my lungs. It was almost too painful to breathe and after another moment I became lightheaded. As time passed, less and less oxygen entered my body and I felt my mind start to drift further away from me.

I looked up then to be met with a pair of glowing white eyes, lurking in the shadows of the tree line. My own widened in fear as I once again scrambled backward and away from the being watching me. The eyes stayed where they were. They kept their gaze on me, never once wavering and as the pressure on my brain from lack of oxygen started to overpower me, they blurred out of sight.

I fell back against the dead leaves underneath me. My time ended just as it began... Lying alone in the shadows of my mind.

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